Building This Adjustable Five Arm Brass Chandelier Basically Put Money in My Pocket

As is the continuing saga of my life, I fall in love with light fixtures on a daily basis. DAILY. And if see a homeless light fixture, it comes home with me. Some people adopt pets. I adopt light fixtures. Well, I do have two adopted dogs, so don’t throw things at me.

So, when I was planning for Zack’s new room, I desperately wanted a $350 light fixture from Shades of Light. Y’all, that’s a lot of money to spend on a light for a bedroom. I’m okay with that kind of cash in a living room, but not so much in a room that not many people will ever see. However, I was obsessed and really considering it, but then I noticed that it took G9 Halogen bulbs and I CAN’T GET DOWN WITH THAT.

Back to the drawing board. I knew I wanted a brass fixture that had room for fun bulbs. After lots and lots of searching, I came across the Odyssey 4 Chandelier from Schoolhouse Electric. ANOTHER $350 light fixture, y’all.

Okay, so hear me out. This one is pretty cool. The socket connectors are adjustable, so you can change the direction of the bulbs. Fun, right?

But, even though I think it is cool, it is still $350. And the fact that it had an even number of arms really bugged me.

After some more searching, I came across this post from Mandi at Vintage Revivals and this post from Kelsey at Simply My Simple. They both pointed to a website where they bought brass parts to build their own chandeliers.

Challenge accepted.

So here’s what happened. I ordered a bunch of parts and was going to do a tutorial for you on how I built it. But, my sweet husband put it together one day as a surprise when I was at roller derby practice. I actually really loved that he did that, so sorry that you don’t have a tutorial. However, Mandi’s and Kelsey’s tutorials will walk you through the general things you need to know. The rest is like Tinker Toys.

Not including shipping, I paid about $230 for this fixture (including the light bulbs) that also has swiveling socket connectors. Unless I can’t math, that’s A LOT cheaper than $350 AND it has five arms and fun bulbs (the other fixture didn’t include bulbs). Score!

Woot! I saved myself some cash and I have an awesome light fixture. I mean, Zack has an awesome light fixture. Now, if I could just get him to remember to turn it off before he leaves every morning for school…

P.S. It’s really hard to photograph lighting. A lot of people do it beautifully, but I am not those people.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Jack and Duke). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thank you for the detailed information! A questions, though . . . the brass finishes of the pictured parts on the Grand Brass website look a little irregular in color and sheen, unlike the gleaming look of yours pictured here. Is it just that they don’t have great pictures on the Grand Brass website, or did you have to do something to make it look good? Also, are all of their brass finishes “raw,” unless it specifies “polished”? I have this fear that the parts I order will have varying colors and finishes. Thank you again!

About Makely

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Jack and Duke). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.